Super Bowl television coverage: Progress or excess?

It seems so primitive now. CBS used only 11 cameras for its coverage of Super Bowl I in 1967. The pregame show was a mere 30 minutes.

From a television standpoint, the most memorable moment occurred during the beginning of the second half. Officials actually allowed the kickoff to be replayed because NBC, which also aired the game, hadn't returned from a commercial.

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That never would happen in 2016 when television and the NFL are in lock-step and everything is choreographed to the second for the big game.

The Super Bowl has grown exponentially since 1967 and so has the coverage. CBS will present a four-hour pregame show Sunday and then cover Super Bowl 50 with 70 cameras, the equivalent of more than three cameras for each of the 22 players on the field at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

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Does that sound like overkill? Even CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus wonders if television finally has maxed out its coverage of the Super Bowl.

"We're getting close to the limit with respect to the amount of cameras we can have," said McManus. "Each year, there are modifications and new technologies. But we're getting to the point it's tough to imagine how much more you can do."

CBS' innovation for Sunday's game is dubbed "EyeVision 360." It is a replay system giving viewers a 360-degree perspective and higher resolution than ever before.

All the toys are nice, but McManus gives the same speech to his CBS crew before airing a Super Bowl.

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"I always remind them the field still is 100 yards long," McManus said. "You can't forget your responsibility to cover the game. You have to make sure you don't let the new technology overwhelm you."

On alert: CBS got caught off guard during its coverage of its last Super Bowl in 2013: the Ravens' 34-31 victory over the 49ers in New Orleans. The network struggled to cover the blackout at the Superdome.

"To be honest, we're more prepared than we were last time," McManus said. "We have a plan in place. We learned a lot of lessons from the blackout. We'll be prepared if there's a news story that takes place during the Super Bowl."

Long wind-up: Also, give McManus credit for being candid about why CBS will have a four-hour pregame show Sunday.

"I'd be less than honest if I didn't say it's because our advertising sales people can sell it," McManus said.

The scope of the Super Bowl requires a different approach. CBS knows that a significant percentage of the more than 100 million viewers might be watching their first game of the season. So the coverage has to be broader, which is why there will be a fair amount of celebrities and entertainment features during the coverage.

"You have to find the right balance," said "Super Bowl Today" host James Brown. "You won't have that core group of fans watching as you would during the regular season. You have to try to make it appealing as possible for everyone."

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Rising star:Brandon Marshall is going to the Super Bowl — as an analyst. The former Bears receiver will be part of CBS' pregame coverage.

McManus raved about Marshall's work on "Inside The NFL" on Showtime. It will be an upset if he doesn't have a regular role with CBS after he retires.

The first one:Harvey Frommer's new book, "When It was Just A Game: Remembering the First Super Bowl," graphically shows a time when the NFL didn't have a vice grip on the United States. The league was so desperate for publicity for the Packers-Chiefs game on Jan. 15, 1967, reporters actually were invited to talk to players in their hotel rooms in the week leading up to the game.

In the book, Jerry Magee of San Diego Union-Tribune says: "We went to Bart Starr's room and knock on his door. Starr opened it, saw who we were, and said, 'Hey, come on in, fellas. What can I do for you?'"